


Strike

by Megane



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Battle Knowledge, Bloody Fights, Do or Die, Mini Boss, Parallel Thinking, Training Session
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-04
Updated: 2015-04-04
Packaged: 2021-03-13 12:34:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29901162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Megane/pseuds/Megane
Summary: Ignis might be an advisor and have a sharp mind, but he needs to learn how to protect himself. A typical training session takes an unusual turn and puts him to the test.
Kudos: 1





	Strike

“You sure about this, Ignis?”

The advisor turned his head to the right and stared at the bodyguard. There was a moment of silence before he nodded his head.

“I'll be fine.” He faced forward, staring at the empty, wide circle before him. “I’m sorry to wake you so early.”

“It’s fine,” Gladiolus dismissed the apology, yawning slightly. He brought up a hand. “Opening the cage in three... two...”

Ignis shook out his arms hard, feeling the daggers slide down his sleeve. He wrapped his fingers around their grips and pushed up his glasses with his left pinky finger.

“One.”

Gladio hit the button. Five hidden doors slid open in a semicircle front of Ignis. The bodyguard stood up straighter, honing his focus on the advisor.

“Ya got twenty minutes, Ig. Either finish them off, or I’m coming in there.”

Ignis smirked, shoulders relaxing slightly. “I assure you,” he responded, voice raised. “That won’t be necessary.”

The advisor took one more calming breath and examined each of the open doors in turn. Each one was empty and dark. For almost a minute, nothing happened. But he waited. It would take a moment for anything to respond to the crystal’s call. He closed his eyes and tilted his head left and right, mouthing a prayer to Etro. A low growl rolled from one of the doors, and he opened his eyes. The noise echoed and warped, resonating from each doorway.

And finally, something happened.

A shadow jumped from the center doorway. It was a blur of wispy black smoke, but once it was freed, it solidified. It was a horned jackal — a gangly but quick thing. Its maw was overstuffed with teeth, and its skin had telltale signs of being stretched too thin on the sides. Its eyes were so black they blended in with the creature’s fur. It bounced in place, turning its body to one side, and let out a reverberating bark as it stared down Ignis. The advisor shifted a foot back but kept his gaze on his opponent.

Four more black wisps appeared within seconds of each other, and the gates closed behind them. Three of the creatures were the same as the first - horned jackals - but the fourth... It was something he had never encountered before. Ignis found himself focusing on it for much longer than he had meant to.

That was just the opening the jackals needed to attack.

Ignis was quick to bring his attention back where it was needed. The first jackal leapt at him, maw wide open. An otherworldly hiss left its throat. He jumped back - out of reflex by now - and jutted up his right hand. The dagger pierced through the creature’s neck, and before he could withdraw his arm, another jackal attacked. Ignis gritted his teeth together. He slashed his left hand at the jackal; his right arm was weighed down by the corpse of the first. Regardless, he kept his grip tight on his dagger. When the second jackal fell, Ignis yanked his right arm backwards. The first creature slumped to the floor as well. He shook out his arms, trying to regain equal feeling in both. The creatures he felled dissipated into crystalline fragments, but the ethereal departures were not his focus.

Gladiolus watched as the jackal’s preemptive strikes fell short. He flexed his arms over his chest before relaxing, keeping an even expression as he watched Ignis train. He assessed the situation from his position. There were still three creatures left. Two jackals stared at Ignis with bared fangs, heads lowered and haunches raised. The third, however, kept away from the fight. It looked almost terrified as it moved further away from Ignis and the other outer realm beasts. Gladiolus’ eyes lingered on it for a bit, and he cast a glance back towards Ignis.

The advisor weighed his options before straying left. The two jackals before him were particularly irate and were ready to attack. His movements were drawing him closer to the one on the left, and it watched him stiffly, growling fiendishly. With his peripheral, Ignis could see the third remaining creature beyond the two. He didn’t question why it wasn't fighting but kept a mental note of its position. The jackals attacked him again but with more awareness than the first two had. As one went for Ignis’ face, the second dove for his legs, head tilted to secure the bite.

Ignis crossed his arms, daggers pointed outward. He lowered himself slightly and pushed backwards, launching himself further from the duo. When he landed, he opened out his arms and charged forward again, working with a quick rebound. The jackals dodged almost as well as he did. His forward and horizontal slashes were avoided and parried by a jackal’s horn. One of them scratched down the length of his arm, ripping open the sleeve of his blazer. He bled little, but the attack had succeeded in throwing off his groove. The two creatures doubled up on him, scratching and biting where they could.

Instead of trying to quickly recover, Ignis allowed a few attacks to move him backwards, change his body’s position, and right his footing. Once he was in an ideal placement, he launched with a counterattack - slashing at the two with quick combinations. His eyes dulled to a dark grey as he moved forward, arms swinging in a high paced blur. The creatures squealed and jerked in pain, but the highest of whines came from the back. Ignis’ mind calculated the new information as his body and other thoughts continued to respond to the aggressors at hand. He jabbed out his right hand, feeling it pierce the flesh of the jackal rearing up for him. It growled. There was a pained bark, now off to Ignis’ right.

He twisted and pulled out the blade, a trail of blood and fire following its exit. The remaining jackal bristled and barked loudly. The noise echoed through the training arena; it drooled heavily as it continued baring its fangs. The creature lowered itself suddenly, paws slapping forward, claws tearing up the ground. It charged its human opponent. Upon its falling, he willed his daggers back into the aether, gripping his right hand with his left as he spied the last beast.

It moved back and forth in jittery motions. It whined again and again at different pitches, sniffing the air and hating what it found. This jackal was somewhat like the others. It had horns, but its were thicker. The grey structures had spiral stripes that wrapped around the body of each horn. The horns crossed over the creature’s eyes, leaving it blind. Its body was wider at the top and dwindled towards the back. Its tail was tucked shakily between the jackal’s legs, which had large spikes sticking out from its hocks. Its skin fit better over its body than the other jackals, but there was something about it that kept Ignis on edge. It wasn’t just the way it looked, but in the way it behaved, in the way it moved...

Ignis’ eyes widened, and Gladio’s arms unfolded from over his muscled chest. Both men stared at the creature as it shook its head violently before finally collapsing on the floor.  
There was something that kept Ignis on edge in the way that it died.

His brows furrowed, and he shoved up his glasses with his middle finger. He lowered his hand slowly, keeping his gaze on the corpse before glancing up to Gladiolus. The bodyguard peered down at him and shook his head slowly. Ignis refocused on the body and waited.

It didn’t break down into spectral nothingness, and even a few seconds after, it remained the same: dead and weighted to this earth. Ignis brought his right hand up again, closing his eyes as he summoned a green glow. He felt the cool, relaxing wave of the spell in the palm of his clenched hand. It spread over the knuckles and curves of his fist. He lifted his hand up and opened his fingers, releasing the healing magic into the air. It coiled into the air and down his arm, chilling his body down to the bone and further through to his soul. Ignis took in a deep breath, relishing the palpable taste of mint and fresh air on his tongue. His Highness usually said that the healing spell tasted like cinnamon and a slap in the face, but well. Magic worked in mysterious ways.

The healing had hardly settled in his body when the beast began moving again. It bounded to its feet quickly and turned its head hurriedly. It had the same mannerisms as it had before its suspicious collapse. Ignis readied himself again, bringing his trusted daggers out. He wanted to end the battle quickly, but he would have to be careful. A disorientated enemy was usually more frustrating and more dangerous than an irate one.

Though when he finally did attack, he was surprised by the ease. The beast retaliated little and ran away about as much as Ignis had expected, but still. It was easy to catch up to, and defeating it didn’t take as long as he had anticipated. When it finally started to decompose into crystalline remnants, he placed the back of his right hand against his hip.

“I suppose that’s the end of things,” he muttered to himself, watching the beast degenerate. Later, he would call his attentiveness one of his best traits as his watchful eye kept him from being surprised by the enemy.

The fragments stopped in midair and shattered in slow motion. The beast’s body lurched on the ground. An unholy growl left its form. Ignis moved back, giving himself more distance from the creature’s body. It burst into smoke and _rushed him_. The advisor crossed his daggers over his body and pulled away his arms quickly. Just in time. The beast reformed to attack, but the daggers’ blades slashed the sides of its mouth. The beast hissed and growled again, shrinking away from the quick witted human.

The beast’s form had changed in subtle ways. Its spine was exposed from the center of its back towards its tail. Its right horn had an noticeable arch to it, revealing a wide, red eye. The spikes sticking out of its legs were much more corroded. Its attitude was far more aggressive than it was before. Ignis wasn’t sure what to make of this change, but he pushed the thought aside. He could assess it more thoroughly later.

The beast prowled around him, moving in a slow, predatory circle. It watched him with the exposed eye. Sometimes it moved around him in a quick spiral of smoke and haze, only reforming when it wanted to attack. The advisor was on the defensive with little way to directly attack. The beast kept changing its patterns, leaving Ignis open to being slashed and cut at.

Gladio watched, a hand at his side, the other in his pocket. There were times when the higher class jackal would give Ignis a window of attack, but they were very briefly lived. He tried to keep the beast drawn out when it emerged from its smoke form, but the results were the same. Gladio rubbed his chin and hummed silently. Ignis would just have to push his way through, force an opportunity to present itself. If he could get the beast down for a bit, he might be able to control the situation. The bodyguard’s gaze flicked from Ignis to the jackal and back again. He didn’t call out to the advisor. He believed that Ignis would come to the same conclusion.

Or at least, he hoped...

Ignis pulled himself up and groaned, fingers curling against the ground. Blood dripped down from his shoulder onto the floor as he stood. The jackal had bit deep, not enough to render the arm useless but it sent a message. Ignis winced and rolled his shoulder experimentally. He swallowed down a groan of pain and grit his teeth. Note: don't do that again any time soon. He switched his right dagger over to his left, carefully holding both weapons in one hand. He allowed the healing spell to work into his right hand and clenched it, urging it to at least numb the pain on his shoulder.

The spell had an urgent warmth and stung as it treated the pained area. Ignis reacted with a hiss but tried to keep his attention away from it. The jackal was coming closer, and it didn’t care about the intense, prickling heat in the advisor’s shoulder. If anything, it wanted to bite clear through the joint and make things worse.

Ignis was again on the defensive as he waited for the healing to subside. He watched the jackal carefully and tried to keep tabs on his surroundings. If he let the beast get too close or if he bumped into a wall, he would be at a disadvantage. When the jackal leapt at him, it worked to Ignis’ favour. The advisor dodged, reached up, and jutted his left palm into the side of the beast’s head. The jackal was knocked off balance and shook its head at the unexpected attack. Up in the bleachers, Gladio laughed.

“I really do hate when things drag on,” Ignis stated, words floating into open air.

He closed his eyes slowly and redirected his energy. The healing magic grew hotter; its colour shifted into a more orange hue. The swirling, urgent restorative spell changed its course and raced back to Ignis’ hand. The advisor tensed his fingers on his daggers, willing a second burst of fire to engulf his other hand. Ignis had slowly tried to gain the upper hand over his foe, but in this fight, being slow - being careful - would only serve to get him severely hurt. He had to let go. Had to be more... aggressive. He righted his posture, locked eyes on his enemy,

waited...

_and charged._

The jackal lurched back with Ignis’ heated strikes, blood spilling in boiling droplets onto the floor. It tried to change into smoke and curve around him, but Ignis followed easily. His growing battle instincts moved him; the surge of power echoed instructions in his mind. He knew where to strike - where to stab and ruin the upper class beast. Maybe he _had_ learned something this battle. Maybe his body was becoming more accustomed to fighting. The thought almost made him laugh.

Was he becoming more like Gladio?

The jackal’s body hit the ground and bounced, rolling further away from him. Ignis took a step back and bounced in place as he assessed his opponent’s state.

 _“Now, Ignis!”_ came a shout, and the advisor found it impossible to ignore. He leaned his body forward and raced ahead, embers flicking off his daggers as he ran. A telling trail of smoke and fire followed in his wake. He took a few quick steps together before jumping into the air. His body turned in an arc, and the blade came down, sending a thick wave of fire to the beast. The jackal arched up, engulfed in flames, and let out a pained bellow. It took stalling steps and tried to keep on fighting, but in the end, its body gave. And the battle was over.  
Ignis let out a heavy sigh and opened his hands. The daggers fell away from him and dissipated. This time, he felt no need to watch the body burn. He climbed up the arena stairs and sighed heavily. His gloves were torn. His hair was mussed. His right arm had seen better days, and his blazer was a mess. His shirt was untucked, and truthfully, he was a tiny bit chuffed about that. Gladio slapped a hand on Ignis' shoulder and grinned.

“You’re getting better at this,” the heavy complimented. “But, you know it helps if you can keep it together a little.”

“I’m trust you to keep me prim and battle proper.” Ignis ran his tongue against the inside of his bottom lip. “Did you call to me?”

“Hm?” The heavy lifted his brows slightly. “When?”

“A few moments ago, when I delivered the final...” The shorter male trailed off and realised what had happened. His battle intuitions had built inside of him to the point of becoming a verbal source. He waved a hand dismissively. “Nevermind.”

Gladio smiled and pulled his hand away, opening the door. “First act of business: get you into a bath and some new clothes.”

Ignis chuckled and removed his glasses, cleaning them with his disheveled shirt. “Yes sir.”


End file.
